


Power Chess

by theunwillingheart



Category: Young Wizards - Diane Duane
Genre: A little angst, Crack, Gen, Humor, i can write humor too?, power pronouns are confusing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-28 14:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10833369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theunwillingheart/pseuds/theunwillingheart
Summary: “Your move,” prompted the Winged Defender, leaning back in her chair.The Lone One scratched Its chin and contemplated the board.  “So many worlds,” It said, smiling malevolently.  “Where should I turn next?”Spoilers for Books 1-5.





	Power Chess

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Ms. Diane Duane, the fabulous creator of Young Wizards, does not endorse this fan fic.

“Your move,” prompted the Winged Defender, leaning back in her chair.

The Lone One scratched Its chin and contemplated the board.  “So many worlds,” It said, smiling malevolently.  “Where should I turn next?”  It paused.  “The humanoids of Earth have always been fun.  Let’s go there.  These guys, for example,” It indicated a pair of pieces on the board, “have long been an annoyance to me.”

The Winged Defender snorted.  “You know I’m not letting you take them yet.  I’m rather fond of them.  Their ears are delicious.  Their fingers are too, when I can get at them.”  She paused, considering.  “Though I suppose the phone cord isn’t bad, either.  Come to think of it, everything in that house is quite tasty.”

The Lone Power gave her a look of total disgust.  “I will never understand you.”

“Hmm… indeed.  ‘The light shineth in the darkness…’”

The Lone Power scowled.  “Fine.  These brats.  Should’ve looked before they signed on.”  It rubbed Its hands together and moved a few pawns shaped like snarling wolves down the board.

The One’s Champion moved the girl out of harm’s way.  “Oh, how big of you.  Going after children again, I see.  I’m sure that makes you feel very strong.”

“Don’t blame me,” shot back the Starsnuffer.  “I didn’t make the rules.  You guys are the ones who decided that the youngest wizards should be the most powerful.  It just makes sense for me to take them out first.”

“Oh, so you’re saying that you _don’t_ derive pleasure from destroying the young and the innocent?” she asked hotly.

The Lone One laughed cruelly.  “I never said _that_ ,” It told her.  The Winged Defender shuddered.

Turn after turn went by, and pieces moved back and forth across the board.  The Lone One managed to capture a sports car, a white hole, several whales, and a shark.  The Winged One frowned at her only winnings so far, a dark rider and a large serpent.

“Sorry, Sis,” said the Lone One, counting Its spoils in satisfaction.  “I’m just… better than you.  But that’s nothing to feel bad about.  I’m better than _everyone_.”

The Winged Defender’s scowl deepened.  “Oh yeah?  Well, we’ll see about that.  Behold, the _second_ Callahan!”

The small, redheaded girl stepped forward and began jumping rapidly from planet to planet in no discernible pattern.

“Hold on, isn’t she a knight?” the Lone Power asked incredulously.  “Knights don’t move like that!”

“Dairine does.”  Chin held high, the Winged One moved the redheaded wizard around in a circle out of pure defiance before plopping her down on a silicon planet.

The Winged Champion used up her next few turns rallying several other pieces to the silicon planet to do battle with the sinister, cloaked figure that her brother had placed there.  The cloaked figure attacked; she maneuvered the young wizard partners to safety—

“ _Mistake_ ,” sneered the Lone Power.  “Say goodbye to the birdy—” It looked down in befuddlement at the empty spot where a colorful macaw had been.

_Crunch!_

It looked back up and across the table to where Its sister was holding the bird figurine—or rather, half of the bird figurine; its head had been bitten off—and chewing slowly.

The Winged One noticed that It was staring at her.  “Oh, sorry,” she said.  Were you looking for this?  I couldn’t help myself; these things are _so good_.  You should try one; I’ve got tons of them.”  She offered her brother a box full of small red-and-blue feathered bird figures.

“Sis,” said the Lone Power with faint horror.  “Those aren’t edible.”

“Hmm?” the Winged Power looked at the decapitated figurine as if for the first time and saw that it was, indeed, made of plastic.  “Oh, _great_ ,” she said, suddenly embarrassed.  “I keep doing stuff like this.  You have no idea how hard it is to stop myself from ruffling my feathers and squawking.  Old habits die hard, I guess; I think I was a bird for too long.”  She cleared her throat and, struggling to maintain whatever dignity remained to her, hastily threw the headless figurine back into the box with its whole brethren.  “Uh, where were we, again?”

“World domination,” said the Lone One sulkily.

“Ha!  Think again.  Looks like I win this round,” she smiled.  “This world, at least, will live free from your greedy clutches.”  She plucked the hooded figure from the board and added it to her collection.  “Your turn,” she said.  “Hit me with all you’ve got!”

The Lone One stared moodily at the board, the consummate sore loser.  But It brightened when it caught sight of something on Earth.  It looked up haughtily.

“Oh _no_ ,” said the Lone Power self-indulgently.  “What _ever_ could be happening to _Ireland_?”

The Winged Defender slowly closed her eyes and counted to 3 million while taking deep, calming breaths.  Then, she counted to 3 million more.  Bracing herself, she risked a glance at the northern part of the board.

It was a total mess.  Everywhere she looked, tiles were changing color at a whim.  Several pieces screamed and disappeared as the space around them shifted planes.  A few rather alarming-looking pieces took their places and began to wreak havoc on the areas around them.  An urge to squawk and ruffle her feathers came over her, and she struggled to control herself.

Her brother smiled sweetly at her.  She sighed.

“We—you know, we’re still in the process of fixing that,” she said lamely.

It laughed.  “Yeah, you’ve been ‘in the process of fixing that’ for about four hundred million years now.  How’s that coming along for you?”

She shook her head ruefully.  “ _Islands_ , man.  Always the _stupid_ islands.  Ireland, Manhattan…”

“Atlantis,” supplied the Lone One helpfully.  It was smiling fondly at the memory.

“Too soon,” snapped the Winged Defender.  “I’m starting to suspect that the Power who invented islands is a traitor,” she groused.  “Fine, whatever.  I think I’m going to send one of our American talents over there.”  She picked up the dark-haired girl.  “Let’s just say that her parents want her to take a break.  Because nothing magical _ever_ happens in _Ireland_ , am I right?”  She chuckled to herself as she flew the young wizard to the Emerald Isle.

“Shouldn’t have done that.”  The Lone Power advanced an enormous, hideous manifestation of Itself.  “This is one they’re not going to win.”

The Bright One looked at him mischievously.  “Oh, I’m not so sure about that,” she replied.  “It seems the Irish wizarding community is about to get a little help from yours truly.”  She put down an older boy dressed in black.  The girl and the boy eyed each other with wary interest.

The Lone One raised an eyebrow.  “Black leather?  _Really_ , Sis?  At this stage in your life?”

“What?” asked the One’s Champion.  “Nita likes it.”  As if in response, the girl adopted a look of practiced indifference.

“Sure, but she’s, like, _fourteen_.  _You_ , on the other hand—”

The Winged One shot her brother a look daring It to complete Its statement.  It decided to drop the subject and refocus on the game.

There was a grand battle.  Several Irish wizards fell to the Lone Power’s clutches.  But by the end, Its sister had claimed the mountainous monster, removing it from the board.  Triumphant, she returned the girl wizard to New York.

“What happened there?” asked the Lone One, looking confused.

“What _happened_ ,” the Winged One explained smugly, “is that Lugh _wiped the_ _floor_ with Balor.  Again.”

“Not that.”  The Lone Power glared.  “I mean those two; what’s up with them?  It wasn’t very clear.”

“Huh?  Oh!  You mean Nita and Ronan?  That’s just… Wait—since when do _you_ take an interest in young love?”  The Winged Defender clapped her hands in delight.  “ _One among us_ —you really _are_ changing!”

The Lone One scoffed.  “Hardly.  But it’s good to know about these things, for future… leverage.”

Its sister gulped.  “Sure.  Of—of course.”

“So?” prompted the Author of Death.  “Are they a couple, or aren’t they?”

“Neither.”  The One’s Champion grinned roguishly at her brother, then said affectionately, “ _Teenagers._ ”

 “You think you’re so cute, don’t you,” the Lone Power muttered while sizing up the board once more.  “Let’s see how cute you feel when I do _this_.”  It grabbed a piece shaped like a fleshy, necrotic, bloody mass and moved it toward the figure of an elegant-looking woman.

The Winged Defender blinked in alarm, looking in confusion at the woman.  “She’s playing?”

“Oh, they’re _all_ playing,” the Lone One gloated, “whether they know it or not.”

“But that’s—” the Winged One’s eyes darted frantically across the board for several moments before she drew back in dismay.

“I can’t save her,” she said, as the horrible truth dawned.  “You… you’re going to win this round.”

Her brother chuckled softly.  “I don’t know why this still comes as a surprise to you,” It said, moving the mass forward once more.  The Winged One listlessly moved the woman’s older daughter forward as well.  “Now that I mention it, I’ve never been quite sure why you bother with this silly little game at all.  We all know that the victory will be mine, in the end.”  It moved the mass again, and the girl followed, as the play progressed forward to its inevitable conclusion.  “Time’s arrow has been loosed, dear Sister,” the Lone Power said, as It reached for the woman, “and the archer never misses his target.”

Suddenly, the Lone Power jerked Its hand back.  “She bit me!” It seethed.  “The stupid dancing woman bit me!”

The Winged One smiled sadly.  “You were taking her away from her babies,” she said.  “Surely you didn’t think she’d go without a fight?”

“She can cling to life all she wants,” spat the Lone One, wringing Its hand.  “I’ll find a use for her, one way or another.”

Its sister shook her head.  “No,” she said.  “She’ll go with you fairly.  She’s better than you.”  A renewed determination came over her.  “They’re all better than you.  Whether they know it or not.”

She watched defiantly as her brother scooped up the woman and deposited her on Its side of the table.  For a moment, she thought she saw something like discomfort in Its expression.

“Well,” It said, rising from Its seat, “I think I’ve had my fill of _winning_ for the time being.”  Its voice was full of feigned disinterest.

The Winged One did not follow It.  “I’ll be here when you come back.”

It snorted.  “Really?  Your odds are never going to get any better.  How long do you intend to continue this charade?  It’s getting tedious.”

She didn’t hesitate.  “Till Universe’s end.”

Again, that look of unease—again, the return of prideful scorn.  “I’ll just have to end it quickly, then.”

“Go ahead and try,” she said.  “You’ve been trying to end it for, what, 14 billion years, now?  How’s that coming along for you?”

“Just _fine_!” snarled the Lone Power, before storming off in a huff.

The One’s Champion watched It go with thoughtful eyes.  Then she stretched, put her head down on her arms, and settled in to wait for the next rematch.

**Author's Note:**

> To anyone who isn’t familiar with the phrase, “time’s arrow” or “the arrow of time” is another, more poetic name for entropy. The idea is that entropy is what gives time its direction, since (despite all efforts of Powers and wizards) the entropy of the overall universe always increases with time. I think I would have enjoyed my chemistry classes a whole lot more if, instead of asking us to calculate change in entropy, my professors had roared, “And how _farr_ down time’s arr _ow_ does this slide us, _mateys_? _Arr!_ ” (In a dramatic pirate voice, because naturally.)


End file.
